Senate Ok’s Bill to Let Consumers Know It’s ‘Grown in NY’

Senate Ag Chair Continues Push to Connect Consumers and Local Farmers

The State Senate today approved a bill sponsored by Senator Patty Ritchie to help push more locally grown food onto consumers’ plates with a marketing campaign aimed at making them aware that products are “Grown in New York.”

The bill—S.519-A—creates the “Grown in New York” marketing program, which sets standards for producers who want to label their foods as local.

“More and more, consumers want to ‘eat local,’ not only for the nutritional value of fresh, wholesome, locally produced foods, but also to help support their local community and their local farmers,” said Senator Ritchie. “But it’s not always easy to tell if a product is truly local, since grocers can sell ‘local’ foods that are really produced hundreds of miles away, or even from a different state.”

“Through better branding and other marketing efforts, the ‘Grown in New York’ program would make it easier for people to see what products are grown or produced in New York State, giving them increased opportunities to consume healthier foods and support our hardworking farmers.”

The measure is part of Senator Ritchie’s multi-faceted plan to help meet consumers’ demands for locally-grown food, support local farmers in their efforts to provide quality, fresh products, and strengthen rural communities.

Senator Ritchie’s “Grown in New York” promotional campaign is designed to complement the state’s “Taste NY” and “Pride of New York” programs, by:

Creating a specific “Grown in New York” logo to identify locally grown and produced goods, as well as to be used in marketing and social media campaigns;

Building a “Grown in New York” website that links consumers and local producers;

Providing educational and training programs to help consumers learn about the values and benefits of buying local;

Finding opportunities for farmers and agribusiness owners to expand their markets; and

Highlighting food and cultural tourism trails—like the local wine trails in Jefferson and St. Lawrence Counties, and those that link New York’s 400 other wineries.

Passage of the measure builds on Senator Ritchie’s recent efforts to put more locally grown and produced foods on the tables of New Yorkers across the state.

Just last week, Senator Ritchie announced funding she included in this year’s state budget will provide free fresh fruits and vegetables from area farmers markets to 2,700 seniors from Jefferson, Oswego and St. Lawrence Counties.

The measure was sent to the Assembly, where it is sponsored by Assembly Agriculture Committee Chair William Magee.